Analysis: What Francois Legault's health video won't tell you.

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With the Coalition Avenir Quebec government trailing in public opinion polls, the CAQ released a YouTube video Sunday in which Prime Minister Francois Legault touted his government's health record.

Legault, who looks somber against a black background as the video opens with somber music, notes that when the CAQ first came to power in 2018, “the health care system didn't work really well.” He called the austerity measures of the former Liberal government the cause of the crisis.

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“We had to eliminate all of that, and then the pandemic hit,” Legault recalled. Nevertheless, he has since boasted that his government has trained thousands of personal assistants “within a few months” and that “we have taken measures to protect our elders that have saved 10,000 to 20,000 (lives)”.

After seeing the video on Monday, patient advocate Pierre Hurteau was shocked.

“I find the triumphalist tone of the CAQ's message about the government's health achievements since 2018 completely inappropriate,” said Hurteau, vice-president of the Conseil pour la protect des malades. “We expected a little more modesty from the prime minister and the health minister.”

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Based on government records, The Gazette verified the confirmation by Minister of Law and Health Christian Dubé in the sequence mentioned in the video.

So does the government's record justify the hype?

Requirement: Within months, the government trained thousands of personal care workers to care for the elderly in nursing homes.

True, false or misleading?

Make no mistake: Although the government accepted 10,000 applicants for training by mid-June 2020, a third have stopped working. And by May 2023, Dubé confirmed, Quebec will have a shortage of 11,000 “preposés aux bénéficiaires,” or personal support workers.

Requirement: Measures implemented during the pandemic helped reduce excess mortality in Quebec by 10,595 deaths compared to the rest of Canada and 20,391 deaths compared to the United States.

Make no mistake: While the numbers in the video are correctly taken from the Institut de la Statistica study, Quebec has reported the highest number of COVID-19 deaths of any province in Canada. Legaul said this was largely due to the fact that Quebec has been more accurate in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths than other provinces.

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Requirement: It's easy to book a doctor's appointment through the government's online portal.

Make no mistake: Liberal health critic André Fortin tried to make an appointment on the Rendez-vous santé Québec website last month, but reported that “no appointments matching your search criteria are currently available.” On Monday, a reporter tried to schedule an appointment with a family doctor in Montreal, but received the following online message: “For your health, we recommend that you contact the clinic.” The reporter is not registered in any clinic.

As of March 31, a total of 640,449 people were on waiting lists for a family doctor in Quebec, up 9,510 from the previous month.

Requirement: Access to vaccination centers is very fast; it was successful.

True: Despite some delays, the province has administered nearly 25 million COVID-19 vaccines in long-term care centers and other seniors' residences during the pandemic, according to the Quebec Institute of Health. However, as of April 1, 60.7 percent of Quebecers aged at least 80 (and considered the most vulnerable demographic) had been vaccinated against the latest strain of COVID-19.

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Last fall, Quebec followed other provinces in making flu vaccinations available to all Quebecers, not just certain groups.

Make no mistake: Although Quebec has increased the volume of operations, the number of patients on the waiting list is steadily increasing. On March 31, the most recent date available, 163,625 Quebecers were awaiting surgery, up 1,865 from the previous month. This indicator excludes cardiac surgeries. However, as of this date, 1,212 patients were on the waiting list for heart surgery, which is 76 more than the previous month, and 58.25 percent faced delays beyond the medically permissible deadline.

Make no mistake: The number 1.5 million is the number of visits and calls to the GAP system. In the video, Dube says emergency room visits have been reduced by 1.5 million. In fact, emergency rooms across the province are as overcrowded as ever, with health officials noticing that patients are increasingly facing more complex medical problems due to an aging population.

Requirement: Since 2022, more than 900,000 Quebecers have registered with a family medicine group.

True: At the end of March, a total of 913,193 Quebecers were enrolled in such clinics. On the other hand, 640,449 Quebecers were on the waiting list to register with a family medicine group.